It seems to have had pretty average performance in the box office in the US (which seems to be the one which counts to the studios) and hasn't made back the production costs $128m in comparison to a $150m budget so I think the likelyhood of a sequel is shakey.

Obviously it's got problems but I think these are almost entirely script related. Performances vary but it's the scripting that lets the actors down.

Pacing is also an issue, since they've crammed a good 6 hours of TV into a single film. It moves too quickly, leaving little time to invest yourself. The emotional stuff is mostly alluded to and that's a shame.

Saying that, it's never boring and visually... it's pretty damn awesome. The effects are top notch and the action looks fantastic.

It's a solid enough foundation for them to build upon but the next instalment needs to me longer and M Night, should he be the one penning the script, needs to root out the humour and heart that drew people to the cartoon in the first place. This entry is a little too downbeat.

Well not bad not great either por old Shamalangadingdong can't seem to get it right anymore & well be lucky to see any sequel unless i'm sad to say he's not involved, & will he please get over his Hitchcock fascination of always putting himself in his films. Average 2,1/2 -5

For some reason I had a feeling this would be pretty good, surely the usually pretty good M.Night Shyamalan can't make three lousy movies in a row. However, within ten minutes I knew I was watching a complete mess of a film, albeit one that is quite entertaining inspite of [or maybe because of ] it's many flaws. The incredibly convoluted plot worked okay I'm sure in the animated cartoon series, but here it just creates confusion. In a manner which reminded me somewhat of the David Lynch version of Dune, events rush by so fast that you almost miss them and it looks like tons of footage has been cut, but tons of time seems to be spent on things that appear to be trivial. Characters travel from country to country so quickly that I actually was unable to work out where they were at certain times, and as we never see much actual journeying Shyamalan fails to give us any character developement along the way. Visually the film is pretty impressive though, with some terrific production design and lots of great Lord Of The Rings-style aerial shots of stunning landscapes, while the action, reminiscent of Hong Kong fantasy movies is mostly reasonable with good CG effects showing the character's 'bending' of elements. The final battle is laughable however. Shayamalan keeps cutting away from the spectacle, and characters stride through it casually as if there' s nothing much going on. The worst aspect of the film is the dialogue. I've never thought much of Shyamalan as a writer of dialogue, but here it's often helariously inept. Some snippets

The last is one of many lines about 'bending', though maybe Shyamalan was unaware of what it means in the UK! Still, this is the worst written movie I've seen in ages and the inexperienced young cast appear lost at sea, as it they weren't being directed at all, with only Devi Patel faring okay, though he actually had some character developement to work with. I did actually quite enjoy The Last Airbender, it's one of those bad movies that is pretty good fun, and technically it is quite impressive, so bizarrely despite it being so poor I would kind of recommend it, it's certainly not your normal mainstream fantasy movie. Don't expect to understand much of what's going on though, or expect to hear much resembling the way people [even children] actually talk!

It would have been nice if anyone had bothered to direct it. I was so bored I started listing in my head where I had seen all the scenes and effects before. No plot, no humour, the villain wasn't even mildly effectiive, the action was essentially one protracted and repetative line dance. I will not be going to see any sequels to this even though at least one is hoped for.

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Some people are like Slinkies . . . not really good for anything, but you still can't help but giggle when you see one tumble down the stairs.

Synopsis In a world separated into four nations, each representing one of the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire and Air)ญญญญญญญญญญญญญญญ, the two siblings Katara (Peltz) and Sokka (Rathbone) discover a young boy named Aang (Ringer)ญญญญญญญญญญญญญญ who is not only the last of the air nomads but is also the Avatar, which can control all the elements and save the world from the Fire Nation's wrath.

Review It is surprising how the arrival of a new M. Night Shyamalan film is a dark warning to us all. In a previous life, Shyamalan displayed a series of great films that were intelligent and dealt with interesting themes. From The Sixth Sense (great), to Unbreakable (his most underrated and best work) and even Signs (War of the Worlds for the thinking man), Shyamalan had a name that was to be excited about.

However, he took a left turn which led him to do stuff like Lady in the Water, a "bedtime story" that was boring and a load of nonsense. After his last film The Happening which did no good either, M. Night decided to change his direction by not doing anything based on his own ideas, but adapt someone else's material.

Based on Nickelodeon's hit television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Shyamalan has adapted the first season, which deals with Aang's journey through the Water Kingdom to search for someone who can teach him to waterbend, whilst being in the company of the waterbending beginner Katara and her boomerang-using brother Sokka. Through their journey, they have to watch out for soldiers of the Fire Nation and particularly the banished prince Zuko who searches for the Avatar in order to regain his lost honour.

Now being seeing this, I did watch the entire TV series, which is more than just an American kids' programme. It's actually a work of art, in which it was as epic as Lord of the Rings; as entertaining as Star Wars; and like the works of Miyazaki-san, the fantasy (which is primarily Asian-influenced) is so imaginative to make it appealing for all ages. Having seen Shyamalan discussing about his love towards the show and how it is a family sensation at his place, it was quite exciting because this was a different kind of film, and when you see the previews and so forth, you think he can't fail.

However, as a hundred-minute adaptation of the show that I really love, it is one hell of a mess! When it comes to translating television to cinema, you have to reduce the baggage of a series and tell the film through its major plot points. This is what we've learnt from translations like State of Play and Edge of Darkness, which weren't as dynamic as their source material but were good enough to be proper films.

In the case of The Last Airbender, they have reduced a large number of plot points that were pivotel to the storytelling of the show, and thus the film becomes an incomprehensibly cheap rip-off of Star Wars for those who aren't familiar with the original, while those who are fans will have their hearts broken.

As well as having difficulty with the narrative, the film is also badly written, in terms of the dialogue which is up there with the writings of George Lucas. These characters who were so memorable in the series as there were colourful individuals which had interesting backstories while there was humour cleverly worked into their interactions. There is none of that wit and charm within this film, which is filled with people who constantly talk about the plot through such wooden dialogue.

To be perfectly honest, I would have been impressed with the look of the film if it wasn't for the dreaded 3D. Like Clash of the Titans, the 3D conversion felt like a last-minute request as it hardly puts you into this world as the story nor indeed the characters isn't even sucking me in. Whenever the bending action kicks in (no matter how good the effects are), I felt like bending the whole film in order to demolish it.

To truthfully depict a character as complex as Aang, you need to display a child-like sensibility which is reckless and excitable, and yet needs to understand that the world is under attack and become its saviour. Unfortunately, newcomer Noah Ringer does not behave like a child and becomes a rather bland protagonist. As for Dev Patel playing Zuko, who has the most interesting role of the entire series, he disppointedly lacks a menacing screen presence and clearly doesn't have any fun with his screen uncle, Shaun Toub.

Verdict If the proposed trilogy continues, either get someone else who knows how to do this genre properly or better yet, leave it alone because I don't want to see two more films that will leave nothing but disappointment. Well done, Night!

What's wrong with Dragonslayer? It's a shame for Shyamalan because everyone always tells him to stay away from the twist endings and then when he doesn't do one everyone says try a twisty ending. I think the problem with him is that he's believed his own hype for too long. This looked shit from the beginning.

I agree with this, when I saw he was making it I wondered wether it was a return to the MNS of old. As soon as I read about it I had pretty much decided that it was n't the film for me. Did he decide to direct this film as not to be type cast? Maybe he should stick to the films with twist endings!

Obviously it's got problems but I think these are almost entirely script related. Performances vary but it's the scripting that lets the actors down.

Pacing is also an issue, since they've crammed a good 6 hours of TV into a single film. It moves too quickly, leaving little time to invest yourself. The emotional stuff is mostly alluded to and that's a shame.

Saying that, it's never boring and visually... it's pretty damn awesome. The effects are top notch and the action looks fantastic.

It's a solid enough foundation for them to build upon but the next instalment needs to me longer and M Night, should he be the one penning the script, needs to root out the humour and heart that drew people to the cartoon in the first place. This entry is a little too downbeat.

It's a hundred miles from the abortion some people claim this to be.

I'd second that review. Shyamalan really should leave the writing to others. I actually think the poor writing is starting to even affect his directing. It's like he doesn't know how to film such godawful lines and therefore has no idea how to direct the actors to say them!

It is a step up from The Happening though. Small step but significant lol

And I LIKED THE VILLAGE!!! THERE!!!

How awesome was Aasif Manvi btw? He didn't do anything particularly funny but it just looked like he was about to make a dumbass joke every time.

I'm a fan of Avator the Last Airbender tv show and I found the film did'nt really live up to it. The funny charaters in the show were far too serious in the film, like Sokka. They also failed to pronouce the names properly, although the special effects with the air bending was impressive.

This has to be the summer blockbuster flop of the year!!! I was an avid fan of the cartoon series but the film did not do it any justice!!! This could have been spectacular with the amazing special affects and a strong story. However it was let down by the misinterpretation of the story resulting in a weak script. The dreadful casting did not help (Dev Patel!!!) along with the wooden performances given by some of the actors. What is it with M. Night Shyamalan making both great films (Sixth Sense & Signs) and horrendous flops (Lady in the water & The Happening)?! Shyamalan you got in completely wrong in this one and I hope there is a sequel so that you can redeem yourself!

I didn't think it was as bad as all that, although I have already forgotten it.....I almost feel sorry for Shyamalan though, talk about a rough patch. My biggest problem with it is the Sokka character, he reminded me of Hayden Christensen, especially the way he couldn't act. Nearly turned it off there...

Initially I thought this was ok, a mildly entertaining fantasy film but eventually it just becomes really boring despite some nicely handled action. One problem is the bald sprog - basically he can't act has terrible lines and delivers them like a robot. I came to the conclusion that he's a SHITBENDER.

2 stars is about right, Dev Patel is the only redeeming feature, he's actually pretty good.

Despite flashy special effects, The Last Airbender squanders the potential of its popular source material on an incomprehensible plot, laughable dialogue, horendous acting and a joyless sense of detachment. It's just like they said at the Razzies, Battlefield Earth now has some competition.